Winning Starts For Leinster And Munster Women

The opening matches in the IRFU Women's Interprovincial Championship produced away victories for Munster and defending champions Leinster, with a huge amount of skill and endeavour on show during the games in Belfast and Galway.

Connacht and Leinster both tore out of the blocks under a dreary and bleak Galway sky on Sunday, but it was all Leinster in the final half hour as they ran out 20-0 winners of this Interpro opener.

Connacht starved the visitors of any chance for continuity in the first eight minutes and looked every bit in control before Leinster turned the tide and maintained control for the next quarter hour.

That said, Connacht toiled well deep in their own territory where loose forwards Shellie Barry and Carol Staunton's hits proved telling on their line.

For at least 10 minutes Leinster hammered at the Connacht line, first through Jenny Murphy and Shannon Houston in the midfield and then it was the turn of Ailis Egan and hooker Fionnuala Gleeson to press.

Connacht escaped on three separate occasions through out-half Clare Raftery's boot, a Niamh Dempsey turnover and Leinster indiscretions on the deck.

Finally, it took a hip swivel and lunge in the 31st minute from skipper Marie Louise Reilly, who not so much went through the defence but over it, to break the deadlock some eight metres to the left of the posts. The ever-reliable Nora Stapleton added the extras for a 7-0 lead.

A rejuvenated Connacht restarted and Grainne Egan, Sorcha Ni Chadhain and full-back Emma Clery probed the defence but too often found fierce opposition instead of space.

Stapleton added three more points before the break. The match was evenly poised, but if underdogs Connacht impressed in the first 40 minutes, they fell apart thereafter.

Handling error after handling error robbed the westerners of momentum and they also fell foul of referee Rob Watson's whistle as penalties invited Leinster forward.

That gifted Leinster the lion's share of possession throughout the second period and without any real possession to speak of, Connacht was always going to struggle to post points.

Stapleton went three from three with a penalty 21 minutes in to go 13-0 up, and concerted territorial dominance freed up new winger Aoife Tyrrell for a try wide out left with 10 minutes remaining.

A desperate effort from Lisa McDonagh, at that stage outnumbered three to one, could not to force Tyrrell into touch and she ran it around for Stapleton to comfortably convert.

Connacht head coach Dave O'Brien, speaking afterwards, acknowledged that a ferocious first half performance from his charges had set things up for a frenetic second spell.

But he conceded that a muscle, weight and experience deficit with the introduction of Ireland captain Fiona Coghlan and St Mary's stalwart Paula Fitzpatrick off the Leinster bench at half-time proved telling.

Connacht's front row of Ruth O'Reilly, Beth Mallard and Tanala Kehoe finished ahead of their Leinster counterparts on performance, Ni Chadhain too stood out at half-back and McDonagh was vocal and busy also out wide.

But this round one fixture belonged to Stapleton and company, who maintained their half-time defensive record through to the finish.

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Munster proved too strong for a spirited Ulster side in their opening Interpro clash at Queen's University on Sunday afternoon.

The Ulster girls, with captain Stacey-Lea Kennedy showing the way, got off to a strong start and missed out on an opening penalty when Grace Davitt pushed a third minute kick wide of the posts.

Davitt struck the woodwork with her next attempt which was the conversion of scrum half Imogen Porter's try. She did very well to squeeze over after breaking from a ruck close to the Munster whitewash.

The visitors snapped back to take a 7-5 lead with Ireland star Briggs finishing off a slick move on the right, with the Ulster defence beaten for pace. She converted the try herself.

Munster were beginning to click and they extended their advantage before half-time with lively winger Hutchings bursting through for a quick-fire brace of tries, the second of which was converted by Briggs in front of the posts.

Ulster clawed five points back though, showing their battling qualities late on with their physically strong pack providing quick ball.

The promising Jemma Jackson crowned her debut with a fine try which saw her beat three defenders to make it over in the right corner.

The winger's score closed the gap to 19-10, but Munster continued to improve and they sewed up their bonus point triumph in the second half by running in three unanswered tries.

Niamh Kavanagh, prop Fiona Hayes and back rower Anna Caplice, who all play their club rugby for Division 1 champions UL Bohs, got the closing touchdowns with the hard-working Hayes and Caplice both powering over from close range.

Kavanagh had restarted the scoring at the end of a scrappy third quarter. The influential Briggs tagged on one more conversion to complete her 11-point tally, making a welcome return in red from a broken thumb.

It was a winning weekend for the Munster females as the province's Under-19 Girls side also beat Leinster and Connacht in the Interpro Blitz in Limerick on Saturday.

The countdown is on to the Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23. Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens & Women's Rugby, previews what promises to be an exciting couple of days.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Jenny Murphy talks about the progress made by the Ireland Women's Sevens team and their pool draw for the upcoming Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Conor Murray and Tommy Bowe speak to Irish Rugby TV about their Rugby World Cup preparations and thank the thousands of supporters who came out to see the players at the open training session at the Sportsground.

Ireland captain Paul O'Connell gives his verdict on the team's new Rugby World Cup jersey and talks about his move to French club Toulon. Ireland's RWC 2015 range is available to pre-order now from http://shop.irishrugby.ie.

Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens, talks about the target of a top three finish for both the Ireland Men and Women in Lisbon this weekend, as they continue on their quests for Olympic qualification.

Tom Daly, who recently captained the Ireland Men's Sevens team to the European Division C and B titles, is looking forward to playing in this weekend's Rugby Europe Olympic Repechage tournament in Lisbon, Portugal.

Ireland will host the 'Women's Sevens Dublin' at UCD on Saturday, August 22 and Sunday, August 23. Tournament director Garrett Tubridy and Ireland stars Lucy Mulhall, Jenny Murphy and Louise Galvin speak about their excitement ahead of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series qualifier.

Coach Allen Clarke and stand-in captain Billy Holland answer questions from the media following Emerging Ireland's 45-12 victory over Georgia in the final round of their successful Tbilisi Cup campaign.

Emerging Ireland coach Allen Clarke speaks about his side's five-try 33-7 win over Uruguay in the Tbilisi Cup and the first half injury to captain Rhys Ruddock. They wrap up the tournament against hosts Georgia on Sunday.

Speaking about the floods that occurred following the Tbilisi Cup's first round, Emerging Ireland team manager Joey Miles said: "A natural event like that, a tragedy like that puts the game of rugby into perspective. We express our regrets to the Georgian people and the Georgian Union for the terrible tragedy that they had."

David O'Reilly from the IRFU Charitable Trust's Corporate Patrons Committee speaks about the new scheme which provides businesses with unique networking opportunities and provides a platform for companies to effectively activate their CSR programmes. For further information, please contact Linda Black of the Charitable Trust - telephone (01) 6473866 or email: linda.black@irfu.ie / http://www.irishrugby.ie/news/34728.php.